Jenaya Robertson learned so much on the pitch last season as a freshman understudy that perhaps it’s no surprise to see the level of passion and veteran poise she has brought to the starting lineup of Canada’s most dominant university women’s soccer program.

Yet ask the sophomore with Langley’s undefeated Trinity Western Spartans (10-0-2) about her speedy ascent to a pivotal role in the middle of the park with Canada’s No. 2-ranked team, and you discover just how much she has embraced the program’s larger themes of heritage and tradition.

“The culture on this team of really caring for one another is so special that I really felt that vibe coming in,” says the 2015 grad of North Delta’s Delview Secondary, who last season logged huge minutes while learning from the likes of graduated seniors Vanessa Kovacs and Ali Oliviero.

“I can see that how we are today is because of what has happened in the past. And when you become a part it, it’s something that you just want to hold on to,” Roberston adds.

And as a team, it’s no stretch to say that the Spartans have a firm grip on their own destiny.

Last week, TWU took its first step toward a potential fifth consecutive trip to the U Sports (formerly CIS) national championship final by clinching the Canada West’s Pacific Division title.

The Spartans will look to keep their organization sharp when they close out the regular season at home Friday and Saturday in a pair of 5 p.m. starts against Lethbridge and Calgary respectively, then the following week attempt to gain host status for the conference’s Final 6 tournament by hosting an opening-round playoff series.

Trinity Western, which has played in seven national title games since 2004 and won five of them, fashions a 16-1 lifetime home record in the playoffs and has a 46-match unbeaten streak in the regular season against teams not named the UBC Thunderbirds. Last season UBC topped TWU in the national final.

For his part, TWU head coach Graham Roxburgh is happy that the schematics of the Spartans’ program have created a welcoming environment for players like Robertson to first apprentice and then lead.

“It was a perfect fit for Jenaya because last year she didn’t have to carry the weight of being a go-to player,” explains Roxburgh of Robertson, who is following in a long line of acclaimed Spartans’ midfielders such as Angela Trauter, Melissa Mobilio, Natalie Boyd and Kovacs.

“Every year we have graduated formidable players and I get asked how we fill that void,” the coach continues. “I say that when the younger player no longer has the senior player around, they have no option but to step up and play well. Jenaya was ready to take on the mantle of being a force in midfield. She has a huge engine, plays box to box and she does it with her heart on her sleeve.”

An early sign that Robertson was ready for a breakout campaign?

On Aug. 13, in the Spartans’ first exhibition of the season, she one-timed a pass from six yards out for the winning goal as her side blanked NCAA Division 1 Seattle University 2-0. Seattle currently leads the Western Athletic Conference with a 4-0 record.

On the whole, Robertson has bagged four game-winners for a Trinity Western team which is 13-0-4 overall, including a scoreless draw with the Pac 12’s Washington Huskies and a 2-0 win over NCAA Division 2’s No. 1-ranked team, the Western Washington Vikings.

Off the pitch?

Robertson’s a business major with a passion for baking.

“I’ll be in class learning and then all of a sudden I will think ‘I can use that for my bakery,’ ” she laughs about possibly setting up shop after her soccer-playing days are done.

Her specialty?

“I grew up in the kitchen and my grandmother lives right across the street from us,” Robertson says. “We love to make this weird Norwegian Christmas dessert called lefsa. Homemade dough spread with butter and brown sugar and cinnamon. You roll it up and serve it and it’s the best of all time.”

That’s a winning recipe, just like the one she’s such a big part of with the Trinity Western Spartans.

Forget CIS moniker, it’s now U Sports

Known since 2001 as Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and before that as the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU), the body representing 56 universities across Canada rebranded itself as U Sports during a press conference held Thursday.

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